3Com appoints new CEO

3Com on Friday named R. Scott Murray its new chief executive officer (CEO), replacing retiring CEO Bruce Claflin, who announced earlier this month that he would step down after five years of helming the networking vendor.

Murray was previously the CEO of Modus Media International, a supply-chain software developer that sold in 2004 to CMGI. His appointment at 3Com is effective immediately. Like Claflin, he will serve as the company's president and hold a seat on 3Com's board. He will also be the chairman of 3Com's Chinese joint venture with Huawei Technologies.

Murray takes over a company looking to staunch a flood of red ink. 3Com has restructured operations and trimmed its workforce in hopes of reaching a financial break-even point by early 2007. 3Com, based in Massachusetts, reported a US$195.7 million loss on revenue of US$651.2 million in its most recent fiscal year.

Murray hailed 3Com's core networking products, its TippingPoint security division and its Huawei joint venture as assets that will be key to his turnaround efforts. "3Com has a sound strategy and incredible assets," he said in a written statement. "I am confident that my global operations background and experience in turning around international technology companies will help 3Com capitalize on its current momentum."

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